Rural Electrification Permutations in Nigeria

Abstract

The positive correlation between electricity efficiency and broad-based socioeconomic development has been well-established. In this regard, diverse institutional interests in Nigeria have consistently reneged from adopting inclusive and sustainable electrification practices. Nigeria’s electricity sector is grossly underperforming and yearning for robust policy implementation to forestall a system eclipse. The poor electricity climate is further compounded by the increasing domestic necessities, escalating economic growth pressures, and regional instability considerations. Nigeria’s electricity conundrum is a case study in multilateral levels of regulatory contradictions, challenging capacity deficits, and endemic breaches culminating in widely unsatisfactory public outcomes. Identifiable actors are accountable for engendering a culture of low policy deployment, particularly regarding sustaining functional governance and institutional processes. Notably, the harshest brunt of suboptimal policy posturing is most evident in rural areas. This chapter deconstructs particular aspects of the socio-contractual and regulatory matrix underpinning rural electrification. Instructively, the chapter details a critique of specific aspects of Nigeria’s electricity-regulatory framework, depicts applicable social license conceptualizations, and also integrates requisite theoretical narratives. The author advances the view that the prevailing electricity regulatory climate is not adequately reflective of Nigeria’s rural communities’ administrative preferences, consumption behavior, and long-term infrastructure utility prospects. The chapter concludes with relevant energy policy governance propositions in the light of the urgency to reverse Nigeria’s rural electrification deficit.